The Real Rocky

Synopsis

Millions watched a movie. One man lived it.

Chuck Wepner is a liquor salesman from Bayonne, N.J., who drives a Cadillac with “Champ” vanity plates. A former New Jersey State Heavyweight Boxing Champion, he took abuse from Sonny Liston, got his nose broken by Muhammad Ali, and inspired Sylvester Stallone to write “Rocky” which won three Academy Awards. Wepner was left out of the “Rocky” glory, and his career took turn after strange turn as he worked to stay in the spotlight: he went on to fight Andre the Giant as “The Assassin” and boxed a 900 pound bear. Twice.

Another ESPN documentary, another strong story. This time looking at the man that inspirred Sylvester Stallone to write Rocky.

Informative and interesting, the only thing that let the film down was the short run time. Some of the stories are really interesting but they just seem to skate over them, meaning that you don't get as much out of it as you could have.

I'm surprised this is even on here. It's only an hour long, made for TV documentary about the ex-heavyweight contender Chuck Wepner. Still, it's pretty interesting.

Wepner seems like he's been hit in the head a few too many times. He comes off as a jealous man looking for some easy money. Stallone comes off as a greedy man who isn't willing to give up (not even) a miniscule fraction of his franchise's money.

It doesn't matter who is right or who is wrong. The Rocky movies are still awesome, regardless if Wepner was used as an inspiration or not. He lived an interesting life in his own right and this documentary shows it.

I found it interesting but unfortunately I found the direction heavy handed and one sided. Stallone freely admits that Wepner was the "Inspiration" behind him writing Rocky, but what does that mean? What did the character Rocky Balboa have in common with the real Chuck Wepner?

1) They were white

2) They were older

3) Supposedly both spent time working as muscle for the mob.

That's it. Wepner had a title fight lined up if Liston would have beaten Ali. Wepner was married with kids. One of the biggest plot points of Rocky was his relationship with Yo Adrian! Wepner was married with kids.

Moving documentary about workingman boxer Chuck Webner, a palooka who once went into the fifteenth round with Muhammad Ali and, presumably, inspired the film Rocky. It's your standard rags to near-riches to prison melodramatic pugilist narrative, but all the more sad for its basis in reality.

Really strong. Didn't know much about this beforehand, but it seems insane that Stallone ever tried to deny a connection. Well-told with a really great mix of archival footage and contemporary interviews. Initially thought the Broadway Danny Rose vibes were accidental, but like that this pulls its tone and style from that film.

Chuck Wepner was a heavyweight boxer in the late 1960s and early 1970s who earned the nickname The Bayonne Bleeder for his propensity to bleed profusely during his bouts. He earned notoriety for two things: going the distance in an improbable title fight against Muhammad Ali (he knocked Ali down in the ninth round) and for suing Sylvester Stallone for stealing his life story for the "Rocky" films.

"The Real Rocky" in an engrossing ESPN film told in Wepner's own words, stylishly filmed in black and white, vivid detail, humor, and brutal honesty that unfortunately is cheapened by director Jeff Feuerzeig's gimmicky approach of using newspaper homage cutaways, blood splatter effects and title cards obviously inspired by the Batman TV…

I am not terribly interested in sports, but of all of the sports, I find boxing to be the most interesting. This film discusses the character Rocky and the fact that he was based on Chuck Wepner. Wepner had an amazing life, and he had some amazing fights. It also looks at the dishonesty of Sylvester Stallone, who eventually settled with Wepner. Boxing is such a harsh sport, and seeing these people who made their lives on it is just amazing. Wepner has an amazing story and I may consider watching some more 30 on 30 films because of this.

Certainly informative, if one sided. Chuck Wepner is an admirable fighter but his argument does have some holes. Most notably, that Rocky Balboa and Wepner are completely different personalities with different backgrounds and different story lines. But judge for yourself. ...btw I wasn't a fan of the slick edits either

I'm surprised this is even on here. It's only an hour long, made for TV documentary about the ex-heavyweight contender Chuck Wepner. Still, it's pretty interesting.

Wepner seems like he's been hit in the head a few too many times. He comes off as a jealous man looking for some easy money. Stallone comes off as a greedy man who isn't willing to give up (not even) a miniscule fraction of his franchise's money.

It doesn't matter who is right or who is wrong. The Rocky movies are still awesome, regardless if Wepner was used as an inspiration or not. He lived an interesting life in his own right and this documentary shows it.

I found it interesting but unfortunately I found the direction heavy handed and one sided. Stallone freely admits that Wepner was the "Inspiration" behind him writing Rocky, but what does that mean? What did the character Rocky Balboa have in common with the real Chuck Wepner?

1) They were white

2) They were older

3) Supposedly both spent time working as muscle for the mob.

That's it. Wepner had a title fight lined up if Liston would have beaten Ali. Wepner was married with kids. One of the biggest plot points of Rocky was his relationship with Yo Adrian! Wepner was married with kids.